Besides threatening public health, safety, and the environment, evading federal law to license the ISP facility would also impact the public financially. Transferring title and liability for irradiated fuel from the nuclear utilities that generated it to DOE would mean that federal taxpayers would have to pay many billions of dollars for so-called “interim” storage of the waste. That’s on top of the many tens of billions of dollars that ratepayers and taxpayers have already paid to fund a permanent geologic repository that hasn’t yet materialized.
From Beyond Nuclear staff. Beyond Nuclear has filed suit in federal court to prevent the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from licensing a massive “consolidated interim storage facility” (CISF) for highly radioactive waste in Andrews County, West Texas.
If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) conclusion that it’s safe to move spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants across the country to a proposed storage facility in Lea County sounds vanilla-coated, it’s because the draft environmental impact statement for a Consolidated Interim Storage Facility submitted by Holtec International did not address how the casks containing the spent fuel would be transported to New Mexico.
It’s likely the casks would be transported primarily by rail using aging infrastructure in need of constant repair. But our rail systems were not built to support the great weight of these transport casks containing thin-wall fuel storage canisters.
Shortly after the Department of Energy’s
Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) concluded distributing $210 million in research grants for so-called “advanced nuclear reactors” last year, Congress signaled those grants were just the beginning, as it had approved as much as $1.5 billion for additional research.
“This legislation demonstrates growing confidence in our nation’s largest source of carbon-free energy, while building on efforts to ensure nuclear energy is properly valued alongside wind and solar in the United States’ carbon-free energy future,” said
“As urgency to address our changing climate grows, we know that investment in innovations, like next-generation nuclear reactors, will become increasingly important in meeting our climate goals,” she said. “Federal funding towards proven solutions, like nuclear energy, should continue to expand to match the challenges ahead. This will require the deployment of new nuclear designs and policies that
NuScale Power Receives Rushlight Events Nuclear Energy Award
PORTLAND, ORE. (BUSINESS WIRE)
NuScale Power announced today that Rushlight Events, a leading organization dedicated to the promotion of clean technologies and sustainable solutions, has honored NuScale with the Nuclear Energy Award. Designed to highlight innovation and groundbreaking initiatives, Rushlight’s Nuclear Energy Award was given to the technological advancement that has contributed the most to improving environmental impacts through nuclear power generation.
“NuScale is honored to receive this award recognizing our leadership in the clean energy field and our ability to generate safe, reliable, carbon-free energy,” said NuScale Power Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Hopkins. “Our innovative technology is an industry gamechanger and promises to strengthen communities by meeting growing energy demands while mitigating worsening environmental conditions. NuScale welcomes Rushlight’s support fo
Illegal and opposed
Beyond Nuclear files suit to stop massive radioactive waste dump
From Beyond Nuclear staff
Beyond Nuclear has filed suit in federal court to prevent the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from licensing a massive “consolidated interim storage facility” (CISF) for highly radioactive waste in Andrews County, West Texas.
In its Petition for Review filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Beyond Nuclear asked the Court to dismiss the NRC licensing proceeding for a permit to build and operate a CISF proposed by Interim Storage Partners (ISP), a business consortium. ISP plans to use the facility to store 40,000 metric tons of highly radioactive irradiated fuel generated by nuclear reactors across the U.S., (also euphemistically known as “used” or “spent” fuel), amounting to nearly half of the nation’s current inventory.